Flanged wheels



E. T. LORIG FLANGED WHEELS July 8, 1958 Filed May 4, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 R :R I a 3 /2 12 FIG:

/7\/ new TOR.

EDWIN r. LOR/G,

his Attorney.

July 8, 1958 "r. LORIG 7 2,842,393 A 'FLANGED WHEELS Filed May 4, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 2 E1 E1 3. m 4-- 2 V 3a 3a 34 46" INVENTOR. EDWIN T. LOR/G,

400M016: Am

his Attorney.

Jilly 8, 1958 E. T. LORIG 2,842,393

FLANGED WHEELS Filed May 4', 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 3 By: Ar Zx/ his Af/omey.

FLANGED WHEELS Edwin T. Lorig, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application May 4, 1955, Serial No. 506,027 9 Claims. (Cl. 295-1) This invention relates to flanged wheels and wheel assemblies and more particularly to wheels adapted to roll on rails such as wheels used on railroad equipment and :cranes. As a train travels along the track the car and locomotive wheels tend to weave in and out. In order to keep the wheels on the tracks each wheel is provided with a flange extending downwardly below the top of the rail on the inside thereof. In an attempt to prevent the flanges from striking the rail the treads of the wheels have been provided with a taper which extends downwardly toward the opposite wheel. These tapered treads tend to create movement in a sine wave from side to side on the rails-the length of this wave being relatively long for heavy cars and relatively short for light weight cars. If it were not for the flanges on the wheels the amplitude of the sine waves would increase gradually until the wheels would leave therails in a very short time. In other words, the sine wave created when the railroad car is in motion causes the flanges to forcibly contact the heads of the two rails alternately, thus overcoming the lateral momentum in each direction. This frequent contact of the flanges with the rails wears both the sides of the rail and the flanges so that it is necessary to discard the wheel. The rail may be removed and turned so that its opposite side will contact the flange, but after the second side becomes worn the rail also must be discarded. The present tendency is toward the use of higher speeds and lighter weights in passenger railroad cars where the sine wave mentioned above will be shorter and the number of alternate contacts between the wheel flanges and the rail heads will increase. This, together with the higher train speeds tends to cause fast lateral vibrations to take place which, besides being very uncomfortable tothe passengers, can reach dangerous proportions at high speeds and cause the light weight cars to jump the track. The amplitude of the sine wave can be decreased by utilizing special load carrying assemblies such as shown in the copending application to Lorig and Mursch, Serial No. 284,380, filed April -25, 1952, now Patent No. 2,727,780, dated December 20, 1955. However, this assembly cannot completely eliminate the banging of the flanges against the rails, especially when the rails and/ or road bed are in poor condition.

Cranes do not travel at high speeds, but the difliculties mentioned above are involved as they ride along the tracks. Moreover, additional problems are presented due to the long spans and heavy non-uniform loads carried by the cranes. The crane girders are flexible and deflect downwardly various amounts according to the load being carried. Furthermore, the crane trolley moves laterally as well as longitudinally with respect to the track runway. The crane span girders, in deflecting more at one end than theother as the trolley and load shift, cants the end truck frames and wheels on opposite sides atdilferent angles to the vertical, this causing the truck wheel treads on the runway rail at one end of the span to arc on a different radius of curvature than the treads ofthe truck wheels on the other side. Thus, the truck 2,842,393 Patented July 8, 1958 ICE wheels on one side of the crane cannot follow the same arced path on the rail as those on the other side as the crane moves along the rails. These variable deflections in the end trucks and wheels cause diagonal movement of the crane while in motion. This diagonal movement may become so acute that the diagonally opposed wheel flanges on each end truck will wedge the crane between the rails so tightly that further movement of the crane will spread the rails apart by bending the rails, the rail supporting girders. and supporting columns. Therefore, it is necessary to frequently check the diagonal position of the crane on the rails and to straighten the same by ramming the crane wheels or truck bumpers against heavy stops arranged in parallel at the ends of the crane runway. This ramming skids the entire crane on one end until his again at right angles to the rail runway. Because of the severe service the rails become crooked, out of parallel and will vary in elevation throughout their length. Because of this severe service it is necessary for safety reasons to provide flanges at each side of the tread portion of the wheel.

It is therefore an objectof my invention to provide a wheel for use on spaced apart rails whereby the weaving effect is substantially eliminated.

Another object is to provide a wheel assembly which utilizes the wheels of my invention to best advantage.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a schematic plan view of a wheel assembly of my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II--II of Figure 1 and showing the wheels in elevation as they appear when not under load;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a wheel of my invention as it appears when not under load;

Figure 4 is a sectional view, similar to Figure 3, showing a slightly different embodiment of my invention;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a resilient wheel embodying my invention as it appears when not under load;

Figure 6 is a sectional view, similar to Figure 5, showing a slight different embodiment of my invention;

Figure 7 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of my invention as it appears when not under load;

Figure 8 is a schematic plan view of a wheel assembly as used on a crane; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view showing two crane wheels mounted on a common shaft as they appear when not under load.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, reference character R indicates the usual parallel rails on which is supported a wheel assembly of my invention. The wheel assembly includes a first pair of opposed wheels 2 and 4 and a second pair of opposed wheels 6 and 8 arranged in tandem with the first pair of wheels. The distance between the transverse centers of the wheels in each pair is substantially equal to the distance between rail centers. This wheel assembly is shown mounted on frame 10 of a light weight railroad car, but it will be understood that it may be used in conjunction with other types of vehicles which are adapted to travel on parallel rails. Each of the wheels is mounted on a stud shaft or axle 12 which rotates in bearings 14. The axis of rotation of each shaft and each wheel slopes downwardly toward the opposed wheel and inwardly in a direction toward the wheel arranged in tandem therewith. The angle of slope may vary somewhat, but it has been found that a downward slope of approximately 1 /2 and a somewhat smaller inward inclination are satisfactory.

- The construction of the wheels may vary as shown in- Figures 3 to 7 inclusive. In each case there will be two opposed tread portions mounted for movement at the same angular velocity and which are movable under load toward each other adjacent their point of contact with the rail. The wheel of Figure--3 consists of two opposed sections 16 and 18 each of which consists of a hub portion 20, a rim 22 and a web 24 which connects the hub and rib adjacent their outer ends. One section 16 is provided with a peripheral flange 26 of the usual type provided in railroad car wheels. Rim 22 has a frustoconical tread portion 28 arranged with its small diameter end adjacent the transverse center of the wheel. The amount of taper of the tread portions 28 is preferably one in thirty. The hub portions 20 of sections 16 and 18 are press-fitted on the shaft 12 in abutting relationship under such high pressures that the two sections must rotate at the same angular velocity. If desired the sections could be keyed to the shaft. Except for manufacturing difficulties it is preferred to have the hub portions 20 integrally united. A clearance 30 of approximately of an inch is provided between the inner ends of the rims 22 so as to provide a peripheral opening which permits the parts of the rims 22 in contact with the rail to deflect inwardly under load to provide a centering action as the wheel rolls over the rail R. The tread 28 is preferably provided with an arcuate portion 32 adjacent the transverse center of the wheel, as shown. The peripheral groove 30 need not be exactly on the center of the wheel since the wheel will operate satisfactory regardless of whether or not the tread portions 28 of rims 22 are of the same width. It is preferred to have the web 24 connected to the hub 20 at a greater distance from the transverse center of the wheel than the connection of the web 24 to the rim 22, as shown. In Figure 3 the web 24 is shown curving inwardly toward the transverse center of the wheel. The wheel of Figure 4 has the same construction as that of Figure 3 except that its web 24' is straight rather than curved. The corresponding parts of Figure 4 are indicated by priming the reference numerals of Figure 3.

' Figure discloses a resilient wheel consisting of two opposed sections 34. Each section 34 consists of a hub portion 36 and a rim 38 connected by a web assembly 40. The web assembly 40 includes spaced web portions 42 and 44 mounted on the hub 36, a web portion 46 mounted on the rim 38 and rubber portions 48 and 50 bonded to and connecting web portions 42, 44 and 46. The rims 38 are provided with frusto-conical tread portions 52 which are essentially the same as tread portions 28. A peripheral flange 54 of the usual type is provided on one of the sections 34. It will be noted that the web portion 46 is conical so that it is connected to the hub at a greater distance from the transverse center of the wheel than the connection of the web to the rim. The wheel of Figure 6 is constructed in the same general manner as the wheel of Figure 5, the differences being that the web portions 42, 44 and 46 are arranged in parallel relationship. The corresponding parts of Figure 6 are indicated by priming the reference numerals of Figure 5. In these embodiments the hub portions 36 are press-fitted on their shafts 12 in the same manner as in the wheels of Figures 3 and 4 so as to provide a peripheral groove 56 corresponding to the groove 30 of Figure 3.

The wheel of Figure 7 consists of a hub 58 pressfitted on the shaft 12, the web 60 and a special shaped rim portion 62. An annular member 64 is mounted on the rim 62 and is held in place between a flange 66 and a retainer member 68 which is secured to the rim 62 in any suitable manner. The member 64 consists of a plurality of laminations 70 arranged on both sides of a transverse center plane with the laminations on each side extending toward the outer surface of the member 64 toward the transverse central plane. These laminations are preferably formed by slitting the ml:-

4 ber, as shown. A slit arranged perpendicular to the shaft 12 is provided on the transverse central plane so as to divide the member 64 into two tread portions 73. Each tread portion 73 is fr'usto-conical in shape with the small diameter ends being adjacent the slit 72. The laminations 79 may also be provided by means of relatively thin cupped metal discs oppositely arranged on opposite sides of the transverse center of the wheel.

The operation of the wheels and wheel assemblies is as follows. The arrangement of the wheels shown in Figures 3 to 6 is such that two force couples AB and CD are provided which are the reverse of one another. The normal resilience in the webs of each section of the wheel causes deflection of each section in the proper direction to cause the Wheel to seek the vertical center of the rail head regardless of any variation of loading on the wheel. In other words, the openings 30, 56 and 56 between the rims will be practically closed at the point of contact with the rail and will be at a maximum width diametrically opposite. The force couples AB and CD being opposed to one another will cause the wheel to seek the mid portion of the rail. By this construction the flanges of the wheels are used mostly as a precautionary measure and not as a direct means for holding the cars on the tracks. They apply lateral forces which overcome the accumulated lateral momentum induced by the action of the wheel and which tend to throw the car off the rail. Another way of explaining the foregoing is to say that the rotating planes of one section of the wheel is out of parallelism with the rotating planes of the other section and also with the fixed planes in the rails. The foregoing describes the centering ability of the wheels and is present regardless of whether the wheels are mounted as shown in Figure 1 or mounted on a common axis. In addition to the above described centering action the wheel assembly of Figure 1 is such that the planes of rotation in the leading pair of wheels have a toeing-in' effect which aids in keeping the wheels centered. The planes in the trailing pair of wheels are oppositely arranged so that there is a tendency for these wheels to move away from each other. The effect of the whole assembly is to maintain the car centered on the rail with very little lateral movement when traveling in either direction. The centering effect of the wheel shown in Figure 7 is caused by the deflection of the laminations inwardly toward the transverse center of the wheel. While the wheel of Figure 7 may be used in combination with the assembly shown in Figure 1 it is preferred to have the stub axles 12 mounted parallel to one another instead of at an angle as shown in Figure 1.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 8 and 9 a crane 74 provided with two wheel and axle assemblies 76 is mounted on parallel rails R. Each wheel and axle assembly 76, as shown in Figure 9, consists of a shaft or axle 78 having wheels 80 mounted thereon. The wheels of at least one of these assemblies must be mounted for rotation with the shaft 78. The wheels 80 have much the same construction as the wheels shown in Figure 3, each wheel being made of two sections 82 and 84 which are press-fitted on the axle 78 so that they must rotate at the same angular velocity. The wheel 80 differs from the wheel of Figure 3 in that each section is provided with a peripheral flange 86 and tread portion 88 and the outer half of the wheel is cylindrical rather than conical with the diameter being equal to the small diameter end of frusto-conical tread 90 of section 82.

While not absolutely necessary it is preferred for best operations to shape the tread portions as shown in Figures 3 to 7 when opposed wheels are mounted for independent rotation and to shape the tread portions as shown in Figure 9 when opposed wheels are mounted for rotation in unison. Two flanges are not necessary as shown in Figure 9 except for safety precautions in the case of av crane. When the assembly of Figure 9 is used 5, on a railroad car only one flange will be used on each wheel. It will be understood that the wheels shown in Figures 4 to 7 may also be used with the wheel and axle assembly of Figure 9, with the tread portions being shaped in the same manner as in Figure 9. In each of the arrangements described above in which the wheels are mounted in pairs in opposed relationship, the centering effeet is increased in that the outer half section of one wheel will aid the inner half section of the opposed wheel in maintaining the wheels in centered position on the rails.

While several embodiments of my invention have been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. A wheel assembly for a vehicle adapted to travel on parallel rails comprising a first pair of opposed wheels having their transverse centers spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the centers of the rails, a second pair of opposed wheels arranged in tandem with said first pair of wheels and having their transverse centers spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the centers of the rails, the

axis of rotation of each wheel sloping downwardly totlally equal to the distance between the centers of the ward its opposed wheel and inwardly in a direction toward the wheel arranged in tandem therewith, and a peripheral flange on each wheel on the side adjacent its opposed Wheel, each wheel including two opposed tread portions mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, the tread portions being movable under load toward each other adjacent their point of contact with the rail.

2. A wheel assembly for a vehicle according to claim 1 in which each wheel comprises two opposed sections mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, each section having a hub portion, a rim and a web connecting said hub portion and rim adjacent their outer ends, said tread portions being frusto-conical and mounted on their respective rims with the small diameter ends thereof adjacent each other.

3. A wheel assembly for a vehicle according to claim 1 in which each wheel comprises two opposed sections mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, each section having a hub portion, a rim and a web connecting said hub portion and rim adjacent their outer ends, the web being connected to the hub at a greater distance from the transverse center of the wheel than the connection of the web to the rim, said tread portions being frusto-conical and mounted on their respective rims with the small diameter ends thereof adjacent each other.

4. A wheel assembly for a vehicle according to claim 1 in which the tread portions of each wheel are frustroconical with the small diameter end of the tread portions being adjacent each other, each tread portion having a plurality of flexible laminations extending outwardly at an angle toward the opposite tread portion.

5. A wheel adapted to roll on a rail comprising two opposed sections mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, each section having a hub portion, a rim and a web connecting said hub portion and rim adjacent their outer ends, a peripheral flange on at least one section on the side remote from its opposed section, the web being connected to the hub portion at a greater distance from the transverse center of the wheel than the connection of the web to the rim, and a tread portion on each of said rims, said tread portions being movable under load toward each other adjacent their point of contact with the rail.

6. A wheel adapted to roll on a rail comprising two opposed tread portions mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, each portion having a plurality of 6 flexible laminations extending outwardly at an angle toward the opposite portion.

7. A wheel assembly for a vehicle adapted to travel on parallel rails comprising a pair of opposed wheels having their transverse centers spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the centers of the rails, a rotatable shaft, said wheels being mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a peripheral flange on each wheel on the side adjacent its opposed wheel, each Wheel including two opposed sections mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, each section having a hub portion, a rim, a Web connecting said hub portion and rim adjacent their outer ends, and a tread portion mounted on said rim, the tread portion of the flanged section being frusto-conical with the small diameter end adjacent the other section, the tread portion of the said other section being cylindrical and of substantially the same diameter as the small diameter end of the tread portion of the flanged section, the tread portions being movable under load toward each other adjacent their point of contact with the rail.

8. A wheel assembly for a vehicle adapted to travel on parallel rails comprising a pair of opposed wheels having their transverse centers spaced apart a distance substanrails, a rotatable shaft, said wheels being mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a peripheral flange on each wheel on the side adjacent its opposed wheel, each wheel including two opposed sections mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, each section having a hub portion, a rim, a web connecting said hub portion and rim adjacent their outer ends, the web being connected to the hub at a greater distance from the transverse center of the wheel than the connection of the web to the rim, and a tread portion mounted on said rim, the tread portion of the flanged section being frusto-conical with the small diameter end adjacent the other section, the tread portion of the said other section being cylindrical and of substantially the same diameter as the small diameter end of the tread portion of the flanged section, the tread portions being movable under load toward each other adjacent their point of contact with the rail.

9. A wheel assembly for a vehicle adapted to travel on parallel rails comprising a pair of opposed wheels having their transverse centers spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the centers of the rails, a rotatable shaft, said wheels being mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a peripheral flange on each wheel on the side adjacent its opposed wheel, each wheel including two opposed tread portions mounted for movement at the same angular velocity, the tread portions being movable under load toward each other adjacent their point of contact with the rail, each tread portion having a plurality of flexible laminations extending outwardly at an angle toward the opposite section, the flanged tread portion being frusto-conical with the small diameter end adjacent the other tread portion, the said other tread portion being cylindrical and of substantially the same diameter as the small diameter end of the flanged tread portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,712,746 Clasen May 14, 1929 2,043,421 Bachman June 9, 1936 2,049,118 Huguenin July 28, 1936 2,427,066 Porteus Sept. 9, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,936 Great Britain Oct. 9, 1869 

